Tag Archives: faux-pas

^^ A sentence many a man has said over the years and continues to say to this day.

“I want to be lean and strong”

^^ Something I’m pleased to announce more women are saying, it seems there has been a shift in them saying ‘I just want to be skinny’ to now learning the benefit of being lean and strong, it’s great to see.

While it is only my opinion, I feel everybody should be strong.

I’m not talking about record breaking strong, just strong enough to stay healthy and stave off the effects of ageing on the body.

These sports all centre around lifting:

– Weightlifting (olympic lifting)

– Body Building

– Powerlifting

– Strongman

– CrossFit (some may not like this one)

Did you know lifting weights can have the following positive effects on the body:

Personally I’d say the mental improvement is the pivotal one as this can have the biggest impact on a persons life in a very positive way.

However….

If you’re not an athlete and lift for health/confidence you should do it because you enjoy it, not because you feel you have to, that’s the secret to balance and long term sustainability.

Don’t eat yourself up if you miss a session, chalk it up to life and sue it as a rest day, that way you’ll be more motivated when you get to go in, excited to train in fact. Keep this in mind and you’ll find you don’t fall out of love with training.

What if lifting isn’t for you?

That’s cool, find soothing you do enjoy, here are some other options for improving strength and all achieving all the other benefits mentioned above:

This will be the one that makes all the difference to your progression, now read, learn and progress.

Fat Loss Faux-pas #10 Trying Too Hard.

Is there ever really such a thing as trying too hard?

Yes… Yes there is.

People will want to achieve a better body immediately, so much so in fact they want it to happen yesterday. This can lead to some to adopt narcissistic tendencies.

Focus is good, but too much will lead to obsession and as a result your life will grind to an abrupt halt. You won’t want to go out with friends because of eating the wrong things, you might fear going shopping because of temptation and when things get really bad you may even stop eating all together by developing an eating disorder… Don’t forgo your life just because you want to be skinny right this second.

This negative mind set is an easy one to fall prey too. In an attempt to get more results you will potentially make yourself seriously ill.

I have been in this position, I found no one put more pressure on me to achieve than myself and I got ill. Don’t succumb to there pressure, take your time and remember to enjoy the journey, remember to enjoy your life.

After all, nobody wants to look good if they feel unhappy.

Smile and celebrate each small success because in the end when you look back, you will see that all the small things where actually the big things.

The penultimate Faux-pas is here, it might surprise you how simple it is you might also be one of the many who has fallen victim to it too.

Fat Loss Faux-pas #9 Avoiding Fat.

Eating fat will make you fat right?

WRONG!

Overeating will make fat.

As contradictory as it seems, avoiding fat in an attempt to help you lose fat will do little to make this dream a reality. Fat is an essential part of the diet because it helps our bodies absurd the fat soluble vitamins A,D,E and K, not to mention EPA/DHA. Without fat in the diet health issues may potentially increase.

While it is true that almost all Trans-Fats are nasty and need to be avoided at all costs, it is easy to do because many trans-fats are found in highly refined man-made food products. If you opt for whole foods you will find the facts they contain are very beneficial.

There are a plethora of ‘low fat’ alternatives made by companies who want your hard earned money, while some of these products are actually pretty good, the majority will be filled with extra sugar to give them suitable taste and lord only knows how many preservatives.

Opting for the fat free alternatives to whole foods can also lead you to snacking more, this is because the high sugar contents of most of these products only leave you satiated for a short period of time. Once their effect has worn off you will again be looking for a quick fix, as we’ve established in previous posts there is no quick fix.

Depending on your personal requirements you may be able to have unto or over 100g of fat per day (that’s only 900 calories from your daily total.). Fat isn’t the enemy, misinformation is.

We only have 3 more Fat Loss Faux-pas left, I hope you’ve learn’t from the posts so far and started to avoid, or even rectify some that you were susceptible too.

Fat Loss Faux-pas #8 – Not Sleeping Enough.

All you need to do is sleep for 20hours of the day and you will no doubt achieve weight loss… Well that’s what a mattress company might tell you anyway. The truth of the matter is this; a lack of sleep will potentially lead to excessively high cortisol levels (lots of stress hormone), which eventually triggers some primal signals urger to find every dense sugary foods to 1 – keep you going and *2 – bring down your your cortisol levels.

*Foods high in carbohydrates will help increase your serotonin (the happy hormone) which will be lead in to a nice little cascade towards melatonin (the sleep hormone).

You will unknowingly be seeking foods of the described nature above. If you take a moment and think about it you will be able to remember times when you’ve done what I’ve just written because it’s in our nature.

Ideally you will want to try and get to bed by 10pm and wake up at 6am. I know this isn’t always the optimal way for some people to sleep because of that little thing that gets in the way called LIFE, but getting to sleep at or around these times is also very beneficial for your body to regulate/balance its natural hormone levels.

Tonight at 10pm turn off the TV, Playstation, I Pad or what ever technical gadget you have one and get some sleep because in the long run, you will be leaner for it.

I hope everyone had a good weekend off. You probably noticed no more fat loss faux-pas went up of the weekend, but, there was a reason of that which leads perfectly in to the next mistake to avoid.

Fat Loss Faux-pas #6 – Having a Cheat Day.

Fat loss and more importantly maintaining that fat loss isn’t something that can be easily turned on and off for everyone. Copious amounts of different diets over the years have advocated a ‘cheat day’ or something similar, I believe some even allow ‘cheat weekends’, which I’m sorry to say have a disastrous effect on on your fat loss.

Why?

Because the average person lacks sufficient will power to say no when they’ve had enough, this leads some to over indulging (binge eating), thus consuming thousands upon thousands of unneeded calories which completely destroys any caloric deficit accumulated during the week and puts a stop to any potential fat loss.

When the above happens people are left baffled as to why they have been ‘good’ all week with nutritious whole foods etc and still haven’t lost any weight. Being ‘good’ is not my favourite term because as children when we were good we got a reward or treat for being good, people see their ‘cheat’ weekends as rewards and over do it.

I am not saying that you cant have a little of what you fancy. In fact I would encourage you to have a little of what you fancy each day, just to be clear I shall say it again; have a LITTLE of what you fancy each day, DON’T, BINGE.

Please try and remember you need to find a balance in your life. If YOUR personal balance means you have one or two more things you like than your friend but your fat loss is half of theirs then accept it, if that’s what makes you happy.

After all, what’s the point in staring a lifestyle/nutritional change to lose weight and burning fat if you don’t enjoy it?

We keep doing what we enjoy, don’t make yourself unhappy trying to shift unwanted fat, do it slowly without pressure on your shoulders and a smile on your face.

It’s the half way point today and from no on in you will find the remaining Faux-pas might just surprise you.

Fat loss Faux-pas #5 – Shopping While Hungry

You might think this is an old wives tale, but let me be the first to confirm that it’s not. I have deliberately been shopping while hungry and compared what I bought compared to when I was satiated, the difference was a whopping £17.86!

Ok, £18 won’t break the bank but the budget difference was not only int he types of foods I bought but also their quality. While the majority of my shopping basket was filled with whole foods a good third must have been convenience crap that is sugar laden and filled with delicious fat promoting calories.

Why did this happen?

The honest answer to that, I don’t really know… well at least not scientifically speaking, however, from various studies, books, article and seminars I’ve learnt form over the years I have some rather compelling anecdotal reasoning for this sudden break in food choices form my norm.
Personally I found it was because I was looking for foods that would give me energy quickly and fill a hole. If we think back to our ancestors who didn’t have supermarkets and had to forage for food, I am willing to bet they would eat as much as they could as often as they could. True we have not absolute proof of this, but common sense would dictate that was probably the case.

Therefore when I was shopping while hungry I ended up succumbing to the allure of ENERGY DENSE foods, opposed to NUTRITIONALLY DENSE because my body perhaps had a primal urge, but who really knows for sure.

In short shopping while hungry is a one way ticket to buying foods you don’t really want to fill a desire that you don’t really need. In our modern world there is no need to go hungry, unless you’re in dire straights that is.

Here are some quick tips on how to avoid hunger and shopping while hungry:

1 – EAT for the love go god people!
2 – Have a nutrient dense snack in the car – nuts or beef jerky are good just don’t over eat them.
3 – Always have a Litre or water to hand, remember hunger could be thirst in disguise.
4 – Don’t go shopping with the kids, you will use them as an excuse to buy crap.
5 – Don’t go shopping with your other half for the same reason as number 4.

The next trap that catches a lot of people does so because if appeals to their desperation, they need for a result, no matter the cost financially or physically.

Fat Loss Faux-pas #4 – The Quick Fix

There are numerous companies that will for lack of a better word ‘prey’ on those who have struggled to achieve results through conventional methods (diet adjustment, exercise and life style changes). This happens because they hit an emotional cord, because of that the unknowing victim will justify going on a 600 calorie shake diet with logic, not matter how stupid or dangerous it really is.

I understand that losing weight isn’t easy for everyone. Some lose lbs effortlessly each week, other struggle to shift 4 lbs in a month and this leads them down the dark and narrow path of meal replacement fad diets which once started must be followed forever!

Ok, maybe not forever but I have witnessed several people get great weight loss (not fat loss, WEIGHT as in muscle), shortly after returning these ‘successful’ weight loss programs they return to eating properly again and often pile the lbs back on.

Try to stay away from the allure of the quick fix, stick with whole foods that a highly nutrient dense, you will find you lose fat slowly and steadily but the weight is more likely to stay off.

The sad truth about the quick fix is this; there isn’t one.

Hard work, patience and persistence will pay off and get you to where you want to be. Don’t worry of you’re not getting there as fast as someone else as long as you’re getting there, remember the story of the tortoise and the hair.

The Faux-pas are in full swing now, with the first two being fairly easily avoided. As we work our way through all 10 you will find that each one of them is controlled by YOU, it’s up to you to be vigilant and avoid the problems that have claimed many a fat loss goal.

Fat Loss Faux-pas #3 – Not Eating Enough

This might seem counterintuitive, but losing body fat requires you to keep eating otherwise you will find your metabolism slowing, along with your fat loss progress.

When people start on new ‘diets’ they will cut out a lot of foods from their normal eating regime, while they will certainly get a quick drop in weight, they will also get a sharp drop in metabolism too. If you think that starving yourself if the best way to lose weight then I’m afraid I have some bad news for you; it isn’t.

Reducing caloric intake to 1000 calories or under can lead to muscle atrophy (muscle wastage), while some might revel at the idea as they don’t want to be ‘too bulky’ – it infuriates me when people say that – the result will be that their body is more likely to store fat despite their best efforts to shift it.

For a rough guide to how many calories you need to eat per day multiply your weight in lbs by 11-13, this will give you a good range to be in to help you lose fat. You will also need you required protein and fat intakes which can be found by multiplying your weight in lbs by 0.8 for your required protein in grams, and 0.4 for your required fat in grams.

Once you have your protein and fat requirements multiply your protein dreams by 4 and your fat grams by 9 to get the calories required for both, add those together and subtract their combined total from your required daily calories, this will leave you with your calories needed from carbs. With that number divide it by 4 and you will have your required grams of carbohydrates per day (around 10-15% of that number will need to be fibre).

I hope after reading yesterdays first faux-pas you’re well on your way to understanding the difference between boredom and hunger, because today it’s time to learn a new potential trip hazard to avoid.

Fat Loss Faux-pas #2 – Don’t Drink Your Calories

With the explosion of health and diet drinks in recent times it has become all to easy for the lines of common sense to become blurred. You would hope that just because something is shiny and new, or labeled as the ‘magic’ drink that will help melt away fat that people would stop and find out if such claims were true. Sadly that’s often not the case.

Diet drinks, sport drinks, meal replacement shakes aren’t the only culprits to blame. Fruit juices, smoothies, low calorie soda’s and excessive visits to big brand coffee shops are up there too. In the fast paced world we live in convenience wins the day, often leading to people over consuming calories from drinks that they think are healthy when in actual fact they’re not.

Before I go on answer this question – What do you see athletes drinking lots of?

I shall come back to the answer for that shortly.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with having the occasional choice of beverage from the few examples above, but when some are avian upwards of 6per day the extra calories can soon begin to mount up. This is not only because of hidden or unnoticed sugars in the drinks, but also the fact that drinks of this ilk happen to increase hunger rather than suppress it.

Try to remember that more refined sugary things you drink or eat, the more your body will want.

Have you had a think about the question from earlier?

If you were thinking water was the correct answer then well done you :). You may have a gold star, in fact you may have two gold stars and a lolly pop just like the dentist used to give you for going to see them; though in hindsight the dentist was probably ensuring you would have a nice cavity filled mouth from eating too many sweets so they would have a life long patient… on second thoughts no lolly for you. Just the gold stars.

If you thought sports drinks then don’t worry, we all make mistakes, there’s no need to beat yourself up about them (unless they’re really stupid like putting your laptop in the dishwasher, then there’s just no hope for you).

In summary, keeping an eye on not only the amount of drinks you’re having per day but also the type will go a long way inhaling you reduce needed calories and lose more unwanted weight and fat.
Oh, obviously alcohol is loaded with calories so try not to have more than 2-3 drinks per week.